Energy and Environment Driving Efficiency, Reuse, and Recycling

Business Roundtable CEOs are embracing sustainability through innovation to drive new efficiencies, recover valuable resources, eliminate costs and achieve environmental outcomes. From reducing resource consumption to managing waste and embracing a circular economy, U.S. businesses are setting aggressive goals to optimize resource usage and efficiency, make supply chains greener, reuse and recycle materials, and reduce the environmental impact of their operations.

Because of advances in energy efficiency technologies over the past decade, the U.S. now produces more economic output with less electricity – 1 kilowatt hour of electricity produces 18% more today than in 2010.

Corporations are implementing comprehensive approaches and best practices for resource optimization by greening office buildings, improving tracking systems, refining efficiency efforts, and investing in new technologies, business models, and sustainable lifecycle strategies.

U.S. businesses are increasingly moving toward a circular economy by adopting business models that create more value from each unit of resource, ultimately decoupling economic growth from resource consumption. A circular economy is restorative and regenerative by design.

U.S. businesses have taken a leading role in increasing resource efficiency by investing in building efficiency. The share of green building floorspace in the top 30 U.S. office markets has risen steadily over the past ten plus years, from just 6% in 2005 to more than 40% in 2017.

Because of these investments, in addition to a rise in on-site generation, U.S. electricity demand has remained flat over the past decade, while economic growth has continued. Even more, businesses are taking a circular mindset to drive sustainability innovation and deliver value at every step of the process and product lifecycle.

Sustainability

For over a decade, Business Roundtable CEOs have been a leading voice for the business case for sustainability – demonstrating that environmental sustainability and U.S. economic growth can be achieved together. U.S. businesses are making a positive impact toward sustainable outcomes.